Residents and business owners witnessed the second homicide to occur at the intersection of San Pablo Avenue and Delaware Street this year on Thursday, prompting concerns about the area’s safety.
At approximately 9:18 p.m., police responded to reports of multiple shots fired and found the victim, 24-year-old Berkeley resident Dustin Bynum, suffering from gunshot wounds. The victim was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Kelly Gonzalez, 19, lives near the intersection and was inside with her family when she heard the shots.
“We ran out and saw the cops,” Gonzalez said. “I feel a little worried. It was pretty close to my home.”
The shooting took place on a block of San Pablo Avenue that is home to several small stores and restaurants as well as a liquor store and two martial arts studios. Around the corner, small, colorful bungalows with tall iron fences line Delaware Street.
Lucy Espinoza, who manages a nearby Popeye’s fast-food chain restaurant, said the business may hire security at the restaurant. She said she thinks that customers will come back despite the shootings.
Espinoza said the restaurant sometimes attracts unsavory clients, and she does not feel safe working in the area.
Other neighborhood employees — including Harry Atwal, who owns Bing’s Liquor — have also expressed worries about safety.
Atwal said he is concerned because two of the three reported homicides in Berkeley this year occurred on his block, and the other one took place in a nearby neighborhood.
“Police have to do something,” Atwal said.
Atwal has security cameras filming outside his shop and said that he is willing to use his video to help police.
Pam Jackson, an office manager at Jackson Hewitt Tax Services, was not working Thursday evening but heard gunshots during the homicide of Zontee Jones at the same intersection in February.
Jackson said she ran outside and saw Jones lying on the ground choking. “It’s been unsafe,” Jackson said, expressing concerns about people whom she says loiter on the corner near her workplace. “It’s not the first time I’ve worked in a neighborhood like this.”
Anneke Faas, a mother of two, said she was riding home on her bicycle at the time of the shooting and spoke to a police officer shortly afterward, who informed her about the incident.
“When there’s a murder right outside of your door, of course you’re concerned for your kids,” Faas said. “But I’m not going to change what I’m doing.”
Berkeley police have not released any further information about the homicide at this time.
Anyone with information on the homicide is encouraged to call Berkeley police at 510-981-5741 or 510-981-5900. Callers wishing to remain anonymous can contact the Bay Area Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
Contact Grace Wu and Madeline Pauker at [email protected]
Clarification(s):
Clarification: This article has been updated to more accurately reflect a statement about shooting on San Pablo avenue in February.